Press Release

• The Grand Plaza cruise liner will dock in Puntarenas on August 8th, which kicks off the 2011-2012 cruise line season.

August 8th signifies the beginning of the cruise line season in Costa Rica with the arrival of the Gran Plaza cruise liner in Puntarenas.

In 2009-2010, ports throughout the country welcomed 264 cruise liners, bringing 385,363 visitors to the country, which are the highest figures the country has seen in the last fifteen years. This number of visitors is 5.4% higher than the 2008-2009 season and 20.5% higher than the number for 2007-2008.

The Tourism Minister, Allan Flores, explained that in spite of the decrease in the number of cruise line tourism throughout the world, Costa Rica has maintained a steady flow of cruise line arrivals and visitors to the country.

“The beginning of the cruise line season represents an opportunity to promote Costa Rica within this market. We have made various efforts to guarantee that cruise line activity remains competitive,” stated Flores.

The start of the cruise line season kicks off with the arrival of the Great Britain Gran Plaza cruise liner, which will dock in Puntarenas. The cruise ship weighs 77 tons and has a capacity of 1,950 passengers. The ship consists of 4 levels, glass elevators, a casino, a discotheque, a movie theater, laundry services, a spa, a library, shops, a gymnasium, four swimming pools, a basketball court, a golf simulator, among other attractions.

Flores also added that the ICT is jointly working with other Central American countries to take advantage of the opportunities that port cities provide in order to create and plan cruise line itineraries that involve various tourism destinations and generate more visitors.

Along with the arrival of the Gran Plaza cruise liner there will be an official ceremony to commence the start of the cruise line season on Monday, at 9 am in Puntarenas. There will be cultural events such as a traditional masquerade parade to welcome the first visitors of the season.

• Currently, 45 hotels are classified under this type of lodging

The Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT) added the Boutique-style lodging to the seven already existing types of hotels under the Regulation Guidelines for Tourism Lodging Businesses. These businesses have a minimum of five rooms, with private bath, and are characterized by offering personalized high-quality comfort and service. They also have luxurious facilities. The decision was approved by the ICT Board of Directors during session No. 5677 on February 15th, 2011 and was made public on July 18th in the official newspaper La Gaceta.

“With this reform, we recognize the effort, quality, and experience that these business owners make available to tourists, in the 45 hotels that are currently classified under this type of lodging and we hope they keep growing,” stated the Tourism Minister, Allan Flores.

The Boutique hotels have a total of 1,235 rooms, have the Tourism Seal and 81% have been ranked between 4 and 5 stars. They are located throughout the country, mainly in San José, Puntarenas, and Alajuela. The cantons of Santa Ana, downtown San José, Aguirre, and San Carlos are where the highest concentration of these types of lodging establishments are located, although they are also located in more than 23 cantons, as well.

Flores added that the Boutique Hotels generate employment for around 2,000 people with an average of 1.61 employees per room, which surpasses the average of 1.2 employees per room in the rest of the national lodging establishments. These hotels are geared toward tourists that prefer personalized service in a luxurious environment.

Other types of lodging

• Hotel: Minimum 10 rooms with a private bath, daily rates, and services like restaurants, cafeterias, and bars.

• Apartotel: Minimum 10 apartments with one or two bedrooms, private bath, dining room, and kitchen, which are all furnished. Also includes cleaning services and a reception area.

• Hostels: Minimum 7 rooms with a bed and private bath. There are various types depending on the design and specialization. Eco-tourism, beach, mountain, and youth hostels.

• Villas – cabins: Communal groups with at least 7 rooms with a private bath, one or two beds, dining room and kitchen. They are generally located along the beach, river, lakes, or in the mountains.

• Boarding house: This is an establishment with personalized service and a minimum of 5 rooms with private bath, an eating area, reception area, and occasionally offers informal lunch or dinner.

• Botels: These facilities are located on some kind of floating facility, or on a passenger boat that can remain stationary or move around as needed.

• Rural tourism lodging: These establishments have a minimum of three rooms with a private bath, and also offers food and beverage services. They are located in rural settings.

• They will be accredited as “Experts on Costa Rica.”

The Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT) invites travel agents from Germany, Switzerland, England, and Holland, to register for online training in order to be accredited as “Experts on Costa Rica.”

This program is the result of an alliance between the ICT and the Futuropa Association Group and will last until September 2011. It is geared primarily towards travel agents in Germany, England, Holland, and Switzerland.

This teaching method called E-learning, is free and is made up of six modules that last a month each. They cover the primary tools that are needed daily for their job to promote Costa Rica as a tourist destination (See Box).

The six E-learning modules are already online and agents from the 4 markets already mentioned that pass the six courses will be certified as experts on Costa Rica and will be eligible to participate in a raffle for trip to Costa Rica for two winners. Eight airline tickets in all will be provided by the ICT. The lodging and transportation within the country will be covered by Futuropa.

The ICT sees these training as an important tool to help promote Costa Rica in a more professional way and contribute to initiatives from various markets.

The ICT marketing director María Amalia Revelo said, “This initiative is essential to bring European tourists to Costa Rica. Most visitors to Costa Rica from Europe come by way of travel agencies.”

This is a unique opportunity for tour operators to be trained and become professionals on Costa Rica as a tourist destination.
The training is available at www.costaricaelearning.com (English version) or www.costaricaelearning.info (German version).
For more information, contact Adriana Brenes, Futuropa comunicaciones@futuropa.org or at + (506) 2291-4542.

Material

Module 1. Basic facts on Costa Rica

Module 2. The best of Costa Rica by region

Module 3. Activities and adventures

Module 4. Hotel infrastructure and tourism products

Module 5. Discovering Costa Rica

Module 6. Sales tactics

Eleven managers and upper level representatives from key North American insurance companies are visiting Costa Rica to learn firsthand the type of healthcare and recovery services offered to foreign tourists interested in medical tourism in Costa Rica. This initiative is the result of a collaborative effort by the Costa Rica Tourism Board and the International Promotion of Medicine in Costa Rica (PROMED).

The Tourism Minister, Carlos Ricardo Benavides states, “The visiting representatives come from much respected North American companies in the insurance industry. Our objective is to improve our product and develop our image as a prestigious destination to obtain medical services.

This is the fourth “fam” trip in Costa Rica which includes visits to internationally certified medical centers and various national attractions where patients can recover. The insurance representatives will visit, among others, CIMA Hospital; La Católica Hospital; Nova Dental Clinic; Colina Dental Clinic; the UNIBE clinic; the New Smile Dental Clinic and the Clínica Bíblica Hospital. They will also visit La Fortuna and Monteverde.

Some of the participating insurance companies are the National Benefit Builders INC., Clear Choice Benefits, and Affiliated Benefit Solutions.

“We hope to reach around 100,000 tourists over the next three years, and hopefully they will recommend us to others back home,” said Massimo Manzi, PROMED Executive Director.

These efforts are part of the preparations for the Second Medical Travel International Business Summit, which will take place May 2-4, in Costa Rica with some 500 participants from 10 different countries.

The most sought after surgeries in Costa Rica are odontology, plastic and esthetic, orthopedic-bariatric-cardiovascular, and other types of medical treatments.

The sixth episode of The Bachelor will be taking place in and around the breath taking mountainous and tropical landscapes of La Fortuna, Costa Rica. La Fortuna is the home of the spectacular and beautiful Arenal volcano, one of the most popular destinations in Costa Rica. The episode will feature romantic adventures ranging from zip lining and waterfall rappels to cave exploration with the newest Bachelor Brad Womack.

Womack, who shocked Bachelor fans by rejecting both of his final bachelorettes in one of the most controversial finales in the series’ history, returns three years later, having undergone a radical personal transformation he feels sure has readied him to make a genuine commitment to a relationship. Tune in to watch Womack on his search for true love, on MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7th (8:00-10:01 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network.

The Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT) was thrilled to host the cast and crew of The Bachelor and welcomed them to their diverse and beautiful country.

The cast and crew of The Bachelor stayed at the new world class luxury The Springs Resort and Spa in Arenal, Costa Rica. With its abundant natural resources the resort offers guests the opportunity to experience hot spring pools, horseback riding, hiking, bird
watching and an assortment of river related activities such as kayaking, fishing and swimming all with a
gorgeous view of the mystifying Arenal volcano. The Costa Rica Tourism Board is proud to have such a wonderful resort to welcome the show.

Costa Rica is a home for an incredible variety of different destinations that include peaceful waterfalls, lush rainforests, pristine sandy beaches, and gorgeous mountainous regions. The options are unlimited for any discriminating traveler: horseback riding; nature hiking; having an exhilarating experience on a
white-water rafting trip; observing the tropical forests from a canopy tour; surfing the blue waves of
either coast; experiencing a quite; close encounter with different species of birds and wildlife; and enjoying the diverse culture and hospitality of the Ticos.

This amazing country is known for its eco-friendly tourism practices and continues to set a global example for sustainable tourism. Costa Rica is located in Central America, nestled between Nicaragua and Panama, and bordered on the east by the Caribbean Sea and the west by the Pacific Ocean.

This small country represents only .05 percent of the planet’s surface and it shelters almost 5 percent of the existing world’s biodiversity. It has given priority to the conservation of its natural resources, protecting
26 percent of its national territory through the creation of National Parks and other natural areas.

The new season of The Bachelor, from Warner Horizon Television, airs 8/7 Central on ABC. For more information on The Bachelor visit

http://abc.go.com/shows/the-bachelor.

Official Data from the Immigration Office analyzed by ICT

• International arrivals represent a growth of 9.2%

For the second time in history, Costa Rica regained its annual visitation record of two million tourists in 2010, according to data from the General Immigration Office (Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería) gathered and analyzed by the Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT). This number from 2010 represents a growth of 9.2% in international arrivals in comparison to 2009.

According to statistics, 2,099,829 tourists entered the country in 2010 – through all ports of entrance – whereas in 2009, the number was 1,922,579 and in 2008, 2,089,174. The increase represents 177,250 more visitors since 2009 and 10,655 more than in 2008, the year when Costa Rica first surpassed the two million mark.

“We are very optimistic about this growth of 9.2% because international tourism grew between 5% and 6% in Latin America and less elsewhere, hovering between 4% and 5%,” Tourism Minister Carlos Ricardo Benavides pointed out.

Benavides added that, “this data must be considered within the context of the continuing world economic crisis, which causes tourists to spend less during their stay in Costa Rica, a factor that depends on the visitors’ countries of origin and lies outside our control.”

Incoming visitation from Costa Rica’s most important market, the United States, totaled 830,993 tourists. It also registered an increase of 7.2% with respect to 2009 when the country welcomed 770,129 people from the United States. The Canadian market also reported an increase of 14.3% in 2010 with an overall 119,655 registered visits.

The Juan Santamaría International Airport – the country´s main port of entrance – registered the arrival of 1,189,925 passengers in 2010, an increase of 5.5% with respect to 2009 when 1,127,599 incoming visitors were recorded.

Last year, 225,224 international tourists entered the country through the Daniel Oduber International Airport, 34,468 more people than in 2009, which represent an increase of 18.1%.

The General Immigration Office (La Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería, DGME) is the institution responsible for registering migration via all ports of entrance and exit in the country (airports, borders and maritime ports). The Costa Rica Tourism Board gathers and analyzes the data supplied monthly by the DGME; the information is available at the following site

http://www.visitcostarica.com/ict/paginas/modEst/estudios_demanda_turistica.asp?ididioma=1

The Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT), along with 37 companies, 4 associations and national chambers from the sector will participate between January 19th and 23rd at the 31st edition of the International Tourism Trade Fair in Madrid, Spain (FITUR), one of the most recognized and prestigious of its kind in Europe.

This fair boasts the greatest participation from companies in the private Costa Rican tourism sector; in 2011, it will be represented by a delegation comprised of 21 tour operators, 12 hotels, 3 rental car agencies and one airline (see list below).

Tourism Minister Carlos Ricardo Benavides pointed out that, “Spain is Costa Rica’s biggest European market. FITUR represents an important medium for promoting our country and reinvigorating the great positioning that Spanish and European tourists overall enjoy.”

Benavides added that, “this fair is a great way to negotiate with large international wholesalers and airlines, as well as with hotel chains interested in coming to Costa Rica.”

In 2010, FITUR reconvened 10,966 promoters from 166 countries. It also managed to unite more than 124 thousand professionals and 7 thousand journalists from around the world. This fair factors in days for negotiations between businesses and later opens to the public to showcase promotions from different countries and presenting agencies.
The average stay of Europeans in Costa Rica is thirteen days with a daily budget of $112. Spaniards tend to travel in pairs or with friends.
Some noteworthy activities done by Spaniard tourists during their stay in Costa Rica include canopy, snorkeling and hanging bridges, in addition to more traditional options like sunbathing and bird watching, among others.
The ICT also participated in the international Vakantiebeurs fair in the Netherlands – between January 11th and 16th – during which Costa Rica was promoted as the ideal vacation spot for 2011. The average stay of these tourists in Costa Rica is 16 nights and their daily budget from 2005 to 2009 averaged $83 per person.
ICT was also represented at the adventure fair in Santa Clara, U.S.A. and at the end of the month, it will participate in the Adventure Show in Chicago; both events recognize Costa Rica as an adventure destination.

Costa Rican companies that will participate in FITUR 2011:

1.Eagle Tours
2.MTA
3.Adobe Rent a Car
4.Rain Forest Aerial Trams Pacific & Atlantic
5.Best Western Irazú Hotel & Casino
6.National Car Rental
7.Aventuras Naturales
8.Doubletree Resort By Hilton Puntarenas
9.Casa Corvocodo Jungle Lodge
10.CAST Central América
11.Swiss Travel, Costa Rica
12.Toyota Rent a Car Costa Rica
13.Punta Leona Hotel & Club Beach Resort
14.Discovery Travel
15.Costa Rica Top Tours
16.Hotel Royal Corin
17.Hotel Ramada Plaza Herradura
18.ASUAIRE Travel
19.Destinos Tour Operador
20.Horizontes Nature Tours
21.Radisson Europa Hotel
22.Viajes Sin Fronteras
23.Hotel Mountain Paradise
24.Go Tours-Pachira Lodge Tortuguero
25.Gray Line Costa Rica
26.Hotel Resort Parador & Spa
27.SIMBIOSIS TOURS
28.Marriott Hotels & Resorts of Costa Rica
29.Costa Rica Sky Adventure
30.Grupo Mawamba / Trogón Lodge
31.Journey´s de Costa Rica
32.Escapes Ecológicos
33.Enchanting Hotels
34.Uniglobe Viajes Colón-DMC
35.Saint Germain Tours
36.Real InterContinental Hotel & Club Tower Costa Rica
37.Nature Air
38.ACOPROT
39.Costa Rica Hotel Association
40.FUTUROPA
41.National Tourism Chamber

22squared will be putting a special emphasis on advertising to the North American Market

This month The Costa Rican Tourism Board (ICT) hired the 22squared Advertising Agency which will be responsible for advertising Costa Rica’s high sustainability standards internationally, with a special emphasis in the U.S. and Canadian markets. This is the first time that the ICT has hired a firm located in their largest tourism market.

22squared is one of the six largest independent advertising agencies in the United States, has 89 years of experience and 268 employees. Its headquarters are located in Atlanta, Georgia, with a branch in Tampa, Florida.

"The 22squared advertising agency was selected for its excellent reputation among its renowned clients and at the same time sharing the vision of sustainability that encompasses a balance between the natural, financial, capital, human and social fundamentals of the Tourism Development Model adopted and practiced by the Costa Rica Tourism Board. With the creative and innovative advertising that 22squared provides, the Costa Rica Tourism Board looks forward to a great partnership with the agency that will highlight our best tourism practices to the unique and diverse visitors that travel to our beautiful country,¨ added Carlos Ricardo Benavides, Tourism Minister, The Costa Rica Tourism Board.

The ICT selection process included a thorough screening process supported by the market research firm Menlo Consulting Group, which narrowed the search to 52 different advertising agencies in the United States and Canada. The ICT chose 10 finalists and 22squared won.

Marketing Director of ICT, Maria Amalia Revelo, emphasizes " Tourism experience, good recommendations from their customers, a shared vision for sustainability, and a reputation for establishing long term relationships with their accounts, were key to the choice of this firm. "